NEWSFLASH: Tree crashes into building near Melton church

Workmen were today (Friday) dealing with a large lime tree after it crashed into the roof of a property close to St Mary’s Church in Melton.

High winds caused a branch of the tree, which is believed to be around 80 years old, to come down on the building, in Park Lane.

Melton Council sent out a gang of tree-fellers to make the tree safe.

A spokesperson for the company which carried out the work, George Walker Ltd, of Syston, said: “Fortunately the tree came down and only dislodged a few tiles - it could have been a lot worse.

“We were called out by Melton Borough Council to carry out maintenance work on the tree.

“It’s a lime tree which I would guess is around 70 to 80 years old.”

The council was notified about the incident on Tuesday afternoon, about 3.15pm, and workmen arrived at the scene within 10 minutes.

A Melton Council spokesperson said: “We found out it was our tree.

“We did what we could to make the area safe. A specialist tree surgeon visited on Wednesday morning and concluded that remedial works could only be done safely with a crane holding the almost severed limb securely.

“Unfortunately the required crane wasn’t available until this morning (Friday)

“During yesterday (Thursday) and Wednesday the site was regularly checked.

“The tree works were successfully completed by noon today with minimal damage to the adjacent roof.”